Tom Barsa of the Cuyahoga County Board of Health can tell you horror stories about bedbugs and the desperate measures people take to get rid of them.

He can tell you about one frantic family that sloshed diesel fuel throughout their apartment, transforming it into, in his words, "a hazmat site."

Or the pregnant woman whose partner doused their home with two cans of ant and roach spray every night.

Or the misguided parents who zapped their kids nightly with half-a-can of mosquito spray.

The treatments are as dangerous as they are ineffective, said Barsa, who hears it all in his job in environmental health.

"There's so much misinformation out there," he said.

To combat the myths, the county Board of Health and Cleveland Tenants Organization are hosting a conference on preventing and fighting bedbugs.

Bedbugs hitch rides on shoes and clothes, hide in small crevices, breed fast and, like vampires, wait until dark to suck blood from their human prey. But they're immune to most pesticides, and consumers (and businesses) can waste a lot of money on fixes doomed to fail.

This month's conference is aimed at tenants, landlords, social workers, firefighters, and building managers, said Barsa, who spoke by phone outside an emergency room that had just discovered bedbugs in its waiting room.

The agenda includes practical strategies for preventing and fighting infestations, a look at legal issues and an update on what's happening at the state and federal level.

To register, download the form at cuyahogabedbugs.org and mail it, along with a $5 check or money order, to Cleveland Tenants Organization, Attn.: Bed Bug Conference, 3631 Perkins Ave., Suite 3A-4, Cleveland, OH 44114 by Friday. For more information, call the health board at 216-201-2000, ext. 1208 or ext. 1264.

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